


My Next Life as a Kenku: All Routes Lead to Joker!?

by lessiehanamoray



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Persona 5, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Genre: Kenku, M/M, Reincarnated in Another World, Shuake Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:20:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27596059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lessiehanamoray/pseuds/lessiehanamoray
Summary: Goro Akechi awakens in a strange room, around stranger people, and in a strange body! What's a poor human turned crow to do? Meanwhile, Akira Kurusu will follow him anywhere to save him, including the Forgotten Realms!
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Catti-brie/Drizzt Do'Urden
Comments: 25
Kudos: 24





	1. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Crow

Goro Akechi opened his eyes slowly, trying to focus on his surroundings. He remembered their victory over Maruki. He’d been trapped in a weird Monacopter and then…?

It got hazy. They’d exited the copter. And…?

He couldn’t remember.

An auburn haired woman leaned over him. “Ya awake then?”

Who? He didn’t recognize her at all.

He tried to ask that question, but his mouth didn’t know how to form the words.

Wait. That wasn’t a mouth.

Goro clicked his beak together a couple of times.

“Still getting’ movement back, huh? You were out a while.”

Where the fuck was he?

Goro tried to sit up. Taloned hands dug into a hay bed.

What the hell?

The woman backed away slightly. “There’s still something wrong with you, isn’t there?”

Of course there was. He couldn’t speak!

And he had a beak.

“What are you called? My name is Catti-brie.”

What was happening? He understood her, but she wasn’t speaking Japanese. He didn’t know what she spoke.

Alright. He had to calm down. Just...focus on getting the words out.

“My name is-”

Her voice, even her soft tone, sounded from his throat.

Goro lifted his arms. Black feathers covered them, ending in talon-like hands. He carefully wiggled his...fingers? Sure. It seemed a better description than talons, but the claws at the end of them seemed pretty sharp. They actually looked quite similar to the gloves he wore while in the metaverse.

“Let me get you some food and drink,” the woman, Catti-brie, offered. “You take a moment to get your bearings.”

He nodded, unsure if he could say the words he wished to. And terrified they wouldn’t be his own.

She left the room then, gently closing the door behind her.

Goro looked around. Wood and stone construction with a roaring fire on one end. A small wooden table with a couple of chairs.

The whole room looked very rustic to him, like those cabins you saw in British television.

He stood, trembling on thin talons.

Looking down, they really were bird’s feet. He had feathered legs about down to his knee and then bird feet. His knees seemed to bend correctly at least, but the bird-legs beneath them bent at an odd angle. They shifted back towards his back before coming forward once more to place his feet back beneath the knee.. Those feet...claws?...attempted to grab the wooden floor for support. 

Interesting. They looked like they belonged to a perching bird, with three claws facing forward and one behind.

He took a careful step. No moving ankle. That felt weird.

Goro glanced around, hoping to find a mirror.

No such luck, but he did find a small basin filled with water.

It took a bit for him to get over there, even in the tiny room. He felt like he was walking on stilts, and his vision didn’t seem quite right. Everything far away felt like it was in sharp focus, but once he got close he found it easier to see using only one eye at a time.

What was happening to him?

He splashed his feathered face with the cool water. Yep. Definitely a beak and feathers on there. Goro carefully touched his face with the palm of his hands, careful not to cut himself. His beak was very straight and somewhat on the bulky side of things.

The door slowly opened. He turned around to see...

An elf?

A black-skinned elf with white hair and blazing purple eyes strode into the room. He wore glistening armor, a fur-lined green cloak, and two swords rested on his hips.

Catti-brie stepped in behind him, carrying a tray with what looked like a tea set and a cheese plate.

She set it down on the smell table. He could smell the cheese and dried fruit clearly.

Goro shakily walked forward.

"This is my husband, Drizzt."

He looked back to the elf. This one reminded him a little of Akira, buzzing with energy yet outwardly calm and relaxed.

Drizzt pulled out a chair, and even helped Goro sit.

"Are there injuries we missed?"

His voice was so smooth, yet just a little condescending. Goro didn't think it was his goal, just the way he sounded.

Catti-brie and Drizzt both sat. She began pouring the hot drink into mugs.

It smelled like apples and spices.

Goro gingerly took the cup in his long fingers. His talons brushed against the clay, and he ended up holding the mug mostly by his palms for fear of scratching it.

It burnt a little.

Now to figure out how to sip a hot drink with a beak.

How did birds drink again?

They tilted their heads back, didn't they? Goro eyed his hot drink suspiciously. So, did he just throw it down his throat?

Drizzt passed a small plate of bread, cheese, and dried fruit to him.

Goro looked at him, nodding his head in thanks.

"Catti-brie told me you seemed startled when you spoke."

"Startled," confirmed Goro. This time it came out in Drizzt's voice. Not only his voice actually, but the exact tone in which he had spoke the word. Like Goro had badly mimicked Drizzt's sentence.

Actually, not badly. Perfectly.

Cattie-brie set her mug down with a soft thunk. "Are we the first people you've spoken to?"

She sounded worried.

What? Of course not.

Goro vehemently shook his head in denial.

"Then why are you using only our words?"

What did she mean by that? Did she know why he couldn't speak properly?

He poured a bit of the hot liquid into his beak and then tossed his head back to swallow.

Yeah. That worked.

Goro then carefully set the mug down, the heat finally getting to him.

"Our words?" he asked, once more in her voice.

Drizzt and Catti-brie exchanged concerned glances.

"Can you say your name?" asked Drizzt.

Goro tried, he really did, but no. He shook his head sadly.

Catti-brie bit her bottom lip. "That's not normal for a kenku."

"Kenku," repeated Goro. He tried to add the inflection of a question to the word, but couldn't. He could only parrot it the way he had heard it. He titled his head to the side, hoping that would convey his confusion.

Damn this sucked.

Catti-brie suddenly stood. "I'll be back soon."

Goro looked quizzically over to Drizzt.

The black-skinned elf just shrugged. And then, as if remembering something, said, "I'm not sure."

Was he trying to give Goro words to use?

Drizzt sighed and took a long sip of his drink.

"Is the apple cider good?"

Ah, so it had been apple cider. He'd never had it before, so hadn't been sure.

Goro nodded.

"You should try the cheese. It's one of the first batches of deep rothe cheese ever made."

"Rothe," Goro repeated, once more tilting his head in an attempt to express his confusion.

"Large livestock. Deep rothe tastes rather different from surface rothe though."

So, like cows? And what was this deep versus surface thing? Did one of them live underwater like a whale?

Drizzt offered a small smile. "I'll show you some surface rothe when you feel a little better," he promised.

Goro nodded his appreciation. Maybe if he could see it he'd understand what Drizzt was talking about.

He tore off a small bit of cheese and placed it in his beak, holding it there a moment so he could taste it.

There was something musty about the taste, and he swore he could taste mushroom.

Goro threw back his beak to swallow.

That was gonna get old fast.

The door opened once more, and in walked Catti-brie with several sheets of papers, inkwell, and a feathered pen.

She set them down before him.

"Can you write your name?"

Goro carefully lifted the pen out of the inkwell, and immediately spotted a problem. The nib was designed for a right-handed person. while he could usually write his name with his right hand. He looked at his taloned fingers.

The grip felt weird. He was almost scared to hold the pen too tightly for fear of hurting himself.

He closed his eyes for a moment. If he was stuck in this body, he'd just have to get used to things like this.

Goro shifted the pen to his right hand. If he wrote large it would probably still be legible.

Wait. Did they share the same writing system?

Nothing for it but to try.

He tried writing his name in overstated kanji. He was used to writing with nice pens, so the nib didn't feel too odd.

To have the pen Akira had given him right now. That had been a really good pen, and left-handed.

Drizzt and Catti-brie stared at the kanji.

"Can you not write in common?" Drizzt asked. Goro caught a quiet hint of sympathy, and understanding, in that question.

Common? Who called a language common? Talk about presumptive.

"Give me just a moment." Cattie-brie began chanting something under her breath. She then looked at his writing again.

"Intelligent I son?"

Was she trying to read the meaning of the kanji?

That wouldn't work. She didn't even seem to have a sense of how to say it.

Goro decided to try hiragana next.

"Akechi Goro," she read.

Huh, so the phonetic writing worked just fine.

He nodded. "My name is Goro Akechi." Okay, so he could at least combine and reorder the words. That was good to know. He'd purposefully written his family name first in order to test that.

And because he'd forgotten to reverse it.

"It is nice to meet you, Goro Akechi."

"It is nice to meet you, Catti-brie. Drizzt."

He still hated using someone else's voice to talk, but at least he was beginning to understand the trick to it.

She sat down. "Do you think you could explain your situation using the same writing?"

Sure, but if she didn't want to get a headache reading it, and he didn't want to get horrible cramps, it wasn't happening with this pen. Best to write that down.

"I am left handed," she read carefully. "I see. I think one of the siblings is as well. I'll see if I can't get a pen from them."

Goro nodded his appreciation.

Catti-brie once more left the room, leaving Drizzt and Goro alone once more.

"I could show you how to write your name in Thorass."

Goro tilted his head. Was that the name of their writing system?

"It's used in most human languages," Drizzt explained, "including common."

Ah, that would be handy.

Goro nodded his agreement.

Drizzt stood up and walked around the table. He then leaned over Goro and grabbed the pen.

"The first letter, G, is three strokes," he explained, before slowly writing it on the page.

Goro nodded his understanding. The G looked a little like the hiragana se.

"O is one stroke, but very squiggly. It took me a long time to feel like it looked right."

Sure enough, it was very squiggly. Kind of reminded Goro of the hiragana “so”.

"R looks kind of like a ribbon."

"A ribbon," repeated Goro. He silently thanked Drizzt for saying these things out loud instead of just showing him. He needed the words.

"And then another o, right? Are there any other letters in Goro?"

Goro shook his head. Drizzt had it right. Plus, he now had a male voice he could introduce himself with, even if it ended up a question. He hoped Drizzt would call him by name often, so he had different ways to introduce himself.

"Alright then, let me show you Akechi. At least this way you'll know what they look like."

"Right," Goro replied in Catti-brie's voice. Bless homophones.

"Alright, that's A...k...e...t?"

Goro shook his head.

"A...k...e...c?"

Goro nodded.

"h i."

Another nod from Goro. If nothing else he was getting some letters out of this for spelling.

"Okay then. A is a single stroke."

It looked like a reverse question mark.

"E is also a single stroke, and trails off."

It looked kind of like an English h.

"C looks a lot like R, but it's curvier."

Okay.

"H is three strokes, two longish one and one attachment."

It actually kind of resembled the upper case of the English H.

"I is a little like a reverse h."

Actually, it looked like a capital I with the top part longer than the bottom.

"Akechi," Drizzt read. He stepped back, so Goro could better see the paper.

"Goro? Akechi," repeated Goro.

"Your name is Goro Akechi."

"My name is," the first part came out in the woman's voice, "Goro Akechi," he finished in Drizzt's voice.

"It sounds really strange hearing my wife out of your mouth," admitted Drizzt.

He moved back around the table to take his seat once more.

"Catti-brie should be back fairly soon."

Goro nodded.

"I have to admit, I've seen some kenku, but you're the first one I've ever interacted with."

"First one," repeated Goro. He suspected he was also the first Japanese person Drizzt had ever interacted with. Then again, Drizzt was his first elf.

Ah. Maybe he could express that.

Goro pointed a feathered finger at Drizzt. "First one."

"Huh? I guess there aren't so many drow on the surface."

"Drow." Goro cocked his head to indicate a question.

"You've never even heard of drow? Dark elves?"

Goro shook his head, thinking a dark elf sounded like something Futaba might know about.

"Where are you from?"

Goro took another drink of hot apple cider. He really didn't know how to answer that question. He had the distinct feeling his hosts had never heard of Japan. Well, might as well expand his knowledge and vocabulary at least.

"Where are you from?"

"I've lived many places. Right now, I live in the town of Longsaddle."

What a name.

"I also spent many years in Mithral Hall and Icewind Dale."

Okay, so this place liked obvious names. Good to know.

"I was born in the underdark. In the drow city of Menzoberranzan."

"Underdark," repeated Goro. Wait, did that have to do with the whole deep rothe versus surface rothe thing? "Deep rothe."

Drizzt nodded. "A friend of mine is trying to expand trade between the underdark and the surface," he explained. “He’s the one who hired people to make the cheese.”

Goro nodded his understanding. It sounded like this world had extensive cave systems it could use.

A knock on the door. Catti-brie walked back in, a new quill in hand. She handed it to Goro.

“I’ll cast comprehend languages when you’re done.”

He nodded and began writing his story. Or at least, his situation. Goro decided to start at thinking he would die and go on from there.

Every few sentences or paragraphs he indicated a stop. Catti-brie then cast her spell, read his explanation, and asked a few questions.

Goro found her spell understood kanji for meaning, but not for sound, and so phonetically spelled any proper nouns. He explained how he had died in a place where the rules didn’t apply. How he was from another world and reincarnated in this form.

They seemed to understand the reincarnation aspect pretty well. Catti-brie even said she had been reincarnated once as well.

Drizzt asked him about his skills.

Goro explained that he’d fought enemies solo, often relying on stealth to achieve his goals.

Drizzt offered to help retrain him in those skills.

Not knowing where else to start, Goro took him up on his offer.


	2. Only the Black Glove Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joker follows his connection with Akechi to a strange place with even more surprising rescuers.

Akira Kurusu could no longer tell up from down. He just swam for the light, reaching out desperately with his left hand. The soft material of Goro's old glove, given to him almost half a year ago now, clung to his skin.

He'd promised they'd meet again, but after so long Akira had decided it was time he took a proactive role. If Goro couldn't find him, then he'd just have to find Goro.

Dealing with the Metaverse over the summer, after it should have disappeared, had given him an idea. One which hadn't thrilled anyone, but which both Morgana and Futaba had backed.

If Goro valued their promise to meet again as much as Akira did, then Akira could use that promise to track him. The glove marked a physical manifestation of their desire. A treasure to draw him to Goro.

If he could get close, he knew they'd find each other again.

A new sensation washed over him: cold.

Cold water smothered Joker, the weight of his coat threatening to drag him away from the light. A red glove now covered his left hand, but he could still feel Goro's glove on his left, and could still see the black.

In the sudden cold, he opened his mouth. Bubbles burst forth, rising to the light.

He couldn't breathe. His skull felt about ready to cave in on itself.

Something moved in the water. Joker caught the dim glimmer of metal shining in the dim light.

Something the size of a cow blocked his light.

"Water breathing dispelled?"

The voice sounded deep, but youthful. It also wasn't speaking Japanese or English, but Joker didn't care much as long as he could understand it.

He continued to struggle for the light.

The creature moved below him. "Can't have you drowning until you've got more loot, now can I?"

Two long, brown wings rose beside him. With a single strong push, he landed between them.

This creature had scales the color of old bronze.

It rose rapidly through the water.

Joker burst into a sunny afternoon.

The first thing he did was take a deep, and much appreciated, breath. He could see large ships ahead of him, and old style wooden vessels with large masts.

The ships sat at some sort of old-fashioned harbor. Beyond the harbor rose a myriad of old-school western style buildings. A mountain rose in those buildings very midst.

Joker looked down at his rescuer.

"Eh?"

A long, almost serpentine neck, wrapped around so emerald eyes could look at him from amid bronze scales.

A dragon.

"You fall from a ship or need to go to the harbor?"

Joker reminded himself of all the odd shadows he had negotiated with. How much worse could this be?

"Harbor."

"Don't sound too sure," the dragon chided. Still, it, he?, began moving towards the harbor.

"I'm honestly not sure where I am," admitted Joker.

"Really? Get teleported here or something?"

"Something."

"No guesses?"

"I'm afraid not."

The dragon grinned, exposing a full set of rather sharp teeth. "You, my peasant friend, are in Waterdeep harbor."

"Waterdeep?"

"Seriously?"

Joker leaned forward to look more closely. It really didn't sound or look familiar at all.

"I'm afraid I don’t recognize it."

"Where are you from?"

"Japan," replied Joker, curious as to whether or not the dragon would know it.

"Never heard of it. Must be far from the Sword Coast though."

The Sword Coast. What a name. Speaking of...

"What's your name?"

"Me? I'm Zelifarn."

"I'm...Joker."

"Good to save ya, Joker. Be better if you've got something from your homeland to part with."

Unfortunately, he really didn't. Maybe...He checked his pockets.

Ah, he had some yen on him.

"Is this currency unique?" He held out a fifty yen coin for the Zelifarn to glance at.

The dragon sniffed it curiously. "Must not be worth much."

"How so?" He wasn't wrong, of course, but Joker wanted to know why Zelifarn thought that.

"Smells like copper and nickel. I don't know anywhere that uses nickel."

"What is currency usually made of here?"

"Well, I've got a thing for silver, personally. Not the most valuable, but very pretty in the water. If you want value, you're looking at gold pieces."

"Gold?"

"Yeah. What does your nation use?"

"Mostly coins like these and paper."

"Really? What's the value in that?"

"Why is gold inherently valuable?"

"Hard to get. Shiny. Stays shiny. What's not to love?"

"And gold is the normal currency?"

"Yep. Here they're called dragons."

"Dragons, huh?"

"Yep. Only the best name for your best coin. Well, they call platinum pieces suns, and I guess those are worth more, but there's never a lot. Having a mint stops merchants from having to weigh it. Of course, I don't need to weigh coins to know how much they're worth."

"What would mine be?"

"Yours? I don't know. A nib? Not sure it has enough copper though. Especially with that hole through it."

"No reason not to give them to you then."

"Well, at least it's interesting currency." Zelifarn stopped. "Think you can swim the rest of the way? I don't really want everyone knowing I'm here."

"I promise not to say a word." Joker emptied his pockets. Not a lot of yen in there, but a good variety of coins at least.

"Appreciate it."

Joker slid back into the cold water. Zelifarn held out a claw to take the coins.

"Thank you for saving me."

"One good deed, I suppose."

Zelifarn dove back beneath the water, leaving Akira to swim for the harbor alone.

Well, partially. He didn't have to swim much further before a sailor on the docks tossed him a rope. It was actually kind of heartening how quickly a group of sailors came together to haul him to the harbor.

Most of them were western males, heavy built and tall. However, one of the individuals pulling him in looked like a humanoid cat. Not in that person with ears and tails he saw all the time in manga and games way, but actually like a bipedal, human-sized, cat.

He didn't mean to, but even as they hauled him up, Joker caught himself staring.

"You okay?"

Her voice immediately gave her away as a woman.

"Yeah."

A man wearing a badge of a crescent moon reflected in the sea strode forward. "What were you doing swimming in the harbor?" he demanded.

The cat-woman sighed. "Good luck." With that she walked away.

Joker looked at the man who had spoken to him. "I fell in," he answered.

The man eyed him suspiciously. "From what ship?"

"No ship," replied Joker. Zelifarn had accepted teleportation readily. Maybe this human would as well. "Teleportation."

The man narrowed his eyes, but didn't outright deny the possibility. "From where do you hail?"

"Far, far away," replied Joker. "My homeland looks nothing like this."

That was true enough. There were way too many stone buildings here for it to be Japan, or really anywhere with earthquakes.

"I don't even know where I now am," he continued. Okay, so technically he knew, but it felt close enough to the truth.

The man sighed, turning to someone else. "Looks like we've got one Halaster dragged in."

The other man, younger, licked his lips nervously. "Do the portals really spread so wide?"

"I've heard rumors they bring people in from as far as Kara-Tur."

Kara-Tur. Joker didn't recognize that name either.

The older man turned back to him. "Come with me to a guard post, and we'll get this sorted out."

Unsure what else to do, and desperate for information, Joker followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus point if you know where I got the name for the dragon.


	3. No Voice, No Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several months have passed since Goro Akechi's arrival in Longsaddle. One morning in early spring, Drizzt takes him to watch the sunrise.

Goro Akechi wrapped his cloak tight around his black feathers. Spring apparently came quite slowly to this part of the world. While the snow melted in the afternoon sun, the mornings and evening were still quite cold.

Unfortunately, his mentor in this strange world had a thing about seeing the sunrise whenever possible and had insisted Goro come out with him this morning.

It seemed his new body liked the cold no more than his old.

Drizzt walked ahead of him, carefully making his way through the forest. It aggravated Goro how his drow companion barely even left footprints in the crisp snow. Goro, meanwhile, left distinct talon marks.

They'd tried making boots for him, but no matter what he couldn't stand to wear them. Instead, he wore cloth wrappings around his feet, leaving the claws exposed.

Drizzt stopped suddenly, holding up his hand. Goro stopped as well, listening intently to the forest around them.

The birds no longer sang.

Goro tilted his head around, trying to find noise in the silence.

Drizzt rested his hands on his scimitars.

Goro drew the large serrated blade from his back. One of Drizzt's friends, a giant of a human, had helped teach him how to wield large weapons to great effect.

More than that though, the man had taught Goro to channel his constant anger into sudden bursts of strength and rage. Together with Drizzt, Goro had learned much about the nature of this world.

There. The rumble of a hungry belly. Goro tilted his head slightly to focus in on the sound. A large animal approached carefully. It likely intended to grab one of them and make a break for it.

The size sounded like a bear, but according to Drizzt the bears were still in hibernation.

He caught Drizzt's eye and nodded to indicate he'd heard the beast.

And that he wanted first crack.

Drizzt clambered up a nearby tree. He then readied his bow, a beautiful piece of flexible metal.

Good. Goro had backup if he needed it.

He forced himself to relax. Forced himself to look like he didn't know exactly where the creature would strike.

The snow cracked under the creature's immense weight.

Goro spun, sword going out wide to build momentum before catching the creature in the side.

Bear-sized. Bent beak. Feather.

Owlbear.

He'd known he couldn't shove the creature aside. Instead, Goro used the momentum to move himself.

The owlbear's clawed paws slammed into the snow, obliterating any sign Goro Akechi had stood there.

Goro could well imagine the bloody gash that would have left.

He continued his movement, continuing to use his sword as a sort of pivot point until he stood behind his adversary.

From that angle, his sword lifted easily away from the beast's shoulder. Goro jumped back, setting the sword like a polearm.

Drizzt had commissioned this sword from the dwarven kingdom of Gauntalgrym. While not made by the king himself, the project had certainly not been handed over to some novice. And Goro Akechi had provided some input of his own.

The sword he'd used in the Metaverse had been oversized and serrated. After training with Drizzt's friend, Wulfgar, and discussing the properties of weapons with Drizzt's father, Goro had decided he would keep that familiarity.

However, the hilt had always been massively impractical. After some discussion, Goro had settled on a more zweihander design.

The owlbear barreled toward him. Goro lunged. He caught the owlbear just below the face.

No optimal, but functional enough.

The creature continued forward before it even realized what had happened. Goro planted his feet in the crusty snow. Moments like this he kind of liked his crow toes. They latched into a root beneath the snow, holding him firm.

The owlbear ran up his sword, cutting its wound wider on the serrations.

It stopped, caught on a rather spiky guard a good foot before the actual hilt. The owlbear's vicious beak snapped just in front of Goro's face.

It attempted to raise its paws.

Goro threw himself back, sword easily dislodging from the owlbear's throat.

The large creature staggered forward two steps before collapsing, red blood dying the crusty snow.

Drizzt hopped out of his tree.

"Not very effective if there were more," he chided.

Goro wiped down his blade to clean off the blood.

"Yet quite effective with one enemy."

Drizzt looked down at the dead owlbear. "It has been a harsh winter."

So others had told him. Apparently the first real freeze of the year had been much worse than normal.

"Come, we can still make it."

Goro sheathed his sword. Drizzt burst ahead. Goro followed.

Honestly, he enjoyed running through the woods with the drow ranger. Drizzt acted far more reserved in town, but out in the wild he always seemed so much happier.

They rushed up a hill. Nothing particularly impressive, but when they burst out of the trees, it was more than enough.

Drizzt grinned at the rising sun, just cresting over the hills between Longsaddle and the Neverwinter Wood.

Goro moved beside him. He'd come up here before, but never specifically to watch the sunrise.

"I see why we left so early," he admitted.

Drizzt smiled at him, a proper grin Goro couldn't help but return.

At least, as much as a beak would allow.

"You have a full vocabulary now."

"If I don't mind switching voices all the time," Goro admitted. To highlight that fact, he allowed himself to pull from a different voice each time.

"You don't always like Catti-brie or I at least."

"I try not to use your own voice against you."

"I thank you for that." Drizzt returned his gaze to the sunrise. "It's almost spring."

"Will there be more travel soon?" Part of why Goro had stayed so long was simply because of the hazards of winter travel. He had visited Gauntlgrym once, connected by magic portals, but with no real idea of where he wanted to go, staying in Longsaddle until winter's end seemed prudent.

"While we have portals to Luskan, I usually travel with the first caravan to head out. They are the ones most likely to find trouble."

Fair enough.

"I would like you to come with me."

"Why?"

"You can't just stay here." Drizzt pulled out a sealed letter from his pouch. "And Jarlaxle says he found something interesting for you."

Ah, Drizzt's friend Jarlaxle. Goro had met the rather pirate looking drow when he arrived with Drizzt's father once.

He couldn't help but think even Yusuke would find that one garish.

Still, he carefully took the letter, opening it with one of the short talons on his hand. A letter written in delicate Thorass greeted him.

"Greetings, my fine-feathered friend," it started.

Goro had only met the drow mercenary once, but this opening made him immediately want to cut out his tongue.

"One of my agents in Waterdeep has discovered an interesting little lead. Apparently, an odd foreigner has been asking around for a Goro Akechi. It's an odd enough name, and the foreigner strange enough, that I believe he may hold some connection to you. Meet with me and Luskan and we shall discuss this further.

May Waukeen bless your ventures. You friend, Jarlaxle."

"Is he always like this?" Goro asked, handing the letter to Drizzt to glance over.

"Yes. However, I know his agent in Waterdeep, and I trust both their judgment. This foreigner may well have something to do with you."

"I can't even imagine who would look for me."

"Surely there is someone from your previous life who misses you."

"I don't trust their motive."

"I see." Drizzt handed the short letter back. "That makes it all the more important we discover the truth. You need to know if it is merely coincidence. And if it is not, you must discover if they are friend or foe."

"I didn't have friends."

How Goro wished he could add his own inflection to his voice then. He had gotten quite good with expressing the difference between vocal tone and intent with body language, especially around Drizzt, but he just didn't know how to express the deep sorrow he felt at those words.

The sharp pang of guilt which remained from leaving the one person who had wanted to be his friend.

Drizzt rested a hand on his shoulder.

"We have known each other only a few months, Goro Akechi, but you are clever and resourceful. Quite frankly, I find your company pleasant. I am sure I am not the first to feel this way."

"Thank you."

"You will accompany me to Luskan then?"

Goro nodded. "I like to wander," he admitted in Drizzt's voice.

Drizzt chuckled slightly at the sound of his own words thrown back at him. He knew perfectly well that Goro had spent many evenings at both the Fuzzy Quarterstaff and Horn and Hoof, listening in on the adventurers who came through even in winter.

Surely,Goro did not need to use his voice to reply.

"You have done well."

"I had a good teacher," Goro replied in Wulfgar's deep voice. He glanced over to Drizzt to correct the phrase, "have."

"I am glad you feel that way. Now, we should go speak with the caravan master and prepare for departure. If the weather holds out, I believe we shall leave within the tenday."

Goro nodded and began following Drizzt down the sloping hill.

Still, he could not help but turn back to admire the fresh dawn again.

He wondered, of all the people he had left behind in his past life, who would still seek him out. And why.

The why worried him more than anything.


	4. In Another World with my Persona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira finally gets a lead on Goro.

Akira Kurusu made his way towards the docks of Waterdeep. It was the very beginning of spring, the air cold and damp.

His search for information had taken him south, to the fortress library of Candlekeep. From there, he had discovered that, given his location of arrival, he had likely been brought in by one of Halaster Blackcloak's portals in the dungeon of Undermountain. A little irritated with having to backtrack, but pleased with how much he had learned about the world of Toril during his stay, Akira had returned to Waterdeep in the deep of winter.

He'd begun delving into Undermountain shortly thereafter. He'd started small. Quick trips down the well in the Yawning Portal to get a feel for dungeon exploration. He'd then begun tagging along with other adventuring parties in need of a good sneak.

It was with one of those groups that he began practice in Toril's magic, learning to channel his Persona ability into recognizable spells. It wasn't much, but after initiation into this world's magic he had pursued the path known as the arcane trickster.

He did well in those delves. His equipment and dress now better matched his new home, and he could afford good lodging and meals.

What he didn't have was a lead on Goro Akechi. Occasionally, he would focus on the glove, feeling its warmth and taking solace in the knowledge that Goro Akechi was alive. Somewhere out there.

Then the letter appeared. He had returned to his lodgings one evening to find it resting innocuously on his pillow. No signs of entry. No broken shutters. No muddy footprints or damp spots. Just a letter.

The writer stated they had a lead on Goro Akechi, and so Akira had decided to take the risk.

Finding the Cookhouse Hall wasn't difficult. Even with the sun just set, sailors poured in and out of its doors. Many patted their bellies happily. Others wobbled, clearly already drunk.

Akira slipped on his mask, channeling the confidence he felt as Joker, and walked inside.

The inside was dominated by several long-tables, with smaller circular tables filling in the nooks around the edges of the room.

The note had instructed Akira to take a small table facing the door. No problem. Akira then ordered a light ale and some fish stew.

He still felt weird about drinking alcohol, but didn't particularly trust city water. Still, he had learned which drinks made him tipsy and which didn't. Not to mention what he liked.

He loved mead, but if the alcohol didn't get to him, the sugar would.

The barmaid brought out the stew and drink. Akira happily dug in while scanning the room.

Something moved to his side. Akira turned in time to see a man pulling out the chair beside him to sit.

Akira stared hard at the man, taking careful measure of him.

For starters, the man was slightly broader than him, but noticeably shorter. Akira estimated him to be about Haru's height. He clearly wasn't Japanese though. The man's skin seemed oddly gray in the light of the festhall, even after he lowered his hood.

He kept his black hair and goatee neat and tidy, with his hair just long enough he could pull it tightly back.

In color, his eyes matched Akira's, but as their eyes locked he could help but feel for a moment that he was actually staring at Goro Akechi.

Akira pulled out the letter. "Are you the one who sent this?" He could feel the hair on the back of his neck standing on end, and felt surer than he had ever felt before that he now sat before someone who could, and would, end his life if provoked.

Having faced down god-like beings, that realization felt more than a little humbling.

The man nodded slowly before waving a barmaid over to order his own stew and drink.

His voice was gruff and cold, like a dagger slipping between your rib cage.

He turned to regard Akira again. Then he, pointedly to Akira's mind, rested his hands on the table.

Akira decided to follow suit.

"Did you place it in my room?"

The smallest twitch at the corner of the man's mouth indicated a smirk.

"You indicated a lead?"

"Why are you looking for this person?"

"He's an old friend of mine."

The man didn't even blink.

"My apologies, but could I have your name?"

"Artemis Entreri."

Akira had heard that name from some of the other rogues he worked with. They whispered it with a sense of awe and dread. It always reminded Akira of how his parents had warned him and his sister about the Kasha during thunderstorms.

"You have quite the reputation."

"Nothing to what it once was," Entreri noted. He leaned back slightly when the barmaid came back with his meal.

"You have a lead on Goro Akechi?"

"Perhaps, but I must first determine why you seek him. And if we are indeed speaking of the same individual."

Akira nodded his understanding. "I came here originally looking for him."

"So I have heard. A young man of unknown ethnicity who arrived in Waterdeep knowing neither the city nor even the calendar. You then left for Candlekeep to find answers. It didn't take you long to return here."

"If I arrived here, maybe Goro did too."

"Why do you care?"

Akira raised his right hand, almost eternally covered in Goro's glove. "We promised to duel again."

Entreri raised an eyebrow. "A duel?"

Akira nodded. "We were rivals," he explained. "Placed on a path to destroy each other. Instead, we respected each other." Akira dropped his hand. "I know he wouldn't want it to end the way it did."

"How did it end?"

"Betrayal. He was beaten. My friends and I had won. We wanted to understand him, even if we couldn't forgive him. To take down the man who ruined both our lives together. But, Shido had a plan for Goro's betrayal, and sent a puppet version of him to kill his own son."

Entreri leaned forward ever so slightly.

"I knew he wouldn't want things to end that way, and we got a second chance." Akira stared down at his hand. "Shallow. Goro chose to end it. Decided he would rather whatever fate awaited him, even though we both knew he was most likely dead. He wanted to live on his terms." Akira looked back up at Entreri. "We promised we'd see each other again. If something is stopping him from reaching out to me, then I have to find him."

"Then go to Luskan."

"Luskan?"

"The City of Sails," Entreri explained. "It's north of here, the far end of the Sword Coast. If you take a ship, it's not a long trip. They hold a small Greengrass celebration to honor opening trade routes. A small group of merchants make a point of being in Luskan for the first push into Icewind Dale."

"You think I'll find a lead?"

"Most likely, you'll find him. I assume he was human like you?"

Akira nodded.

Entreri took a long drink. "Don't count on that still being true. Reincarnation is a crapshoot."

"I don't care what he looks like, just that he's him."

"Very well. I leave for Luskan on the third dawn from now. Pay your way, and you may accompany me."

Entreri slipped him a small piece of parchment with an itinerary written down in neat script.

"If anyone in all the Realms can find your friend, it's Jarlaxle. Even if this lead proves faulty, you line his pockets and he'll help."

Akira pocketed the sheet and nodded his thanks.


	5. There, Face It, I AM the Problem Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro and Drizzt head for Luskan

Goro Akechi listened intently to the world around him. The merchant in charge of the caravan chatted idly with his wagon driver. Two kids ran among the slow-moving vehicles, caught in a daring game moving hide-and-seek. A pair of guards in the back grumbled about having to walk the whole way in plate armor.

Drizzt kicked Andahar into a trot, the sudden motion forcing Goro to dig his talons into the leather on Drizzt's sides.

"See something?" he whispered.

"Not sure," replied Drizzt. He moved beside the head wagon, signaling his intention to go ahead. The man nodded.

Drizzt moved forward. Goro glanced behind them to see another pair of guards exiting the wagon to take up some of the slack.

"Is trouble common here?"

"Rough winter," Drizzt reminded him. He stopped the unicorn.

Goro swung out his legs to dismount, Drizzt dropping off the other side of the large steed. A moment later the unicorn disappeared.

Drizzt slid into some brush along the side of the road. Goro moved to the opposite side.

He could feel it now. The sense of a hunt.

It reminded him of when the Reaper would appear in Mementos. All those times he could hear the chains rattle, but never figure out the source.

Goro drew his sword, mostly so he could hold it low while he crept along.

He couldn't hear Drizzt at all, but he knew to expect that. Drizzt only made sounds he intended. And now that he was used to this kenku body, neither did Goro Akechi.

He moved carefully now, running parallel to the road. It followed the gently sloping hills, rising up in a gradual, yet noticeable, incline. The perfect situation for an ambush.

Sure enough, not far ahead he could see a small humanoid peering down the hill with a spyglass. Luckily for Goro, it was the so focused on the trail it hadn't noticed him yet.

Confident in its distraction, Goro darted across to a new set of brush so he could move behind it. The hill rolled slightly down here, allowing him to gaze up at the creature.

Yellowish skin. Stocky frame. Slicked back black hair which looked like it had never been washed.

Goblin.

Drizzt had educated him on the creatures commonly encountered along this route, but this was Goro's first time actually seeing a goblin. His general understanding led him to believe that one: there were many more.

And two: goblins didn't usually have the resources required to purchase a spyglass.

Most likely, at least one other lookout could see this goblin's position. If Goro were in their position, he knew he'd wait until the perfect moment before revealing his force at the crest of the hill. Far enough to get some good range shots off, but close enough the caravan couldn't flee efficiently.

According to Drizzt, goblins were cowards. Only brave in overwhelming numbers.

Unfortunately, those overwhelming numbers could make for a rough fight. Best to take out the head.

Keeping ears and eyes open, Goro moved carefully behind the scout. Sure enough, he hadn't moved far before the next scout came into view.

This seemed more organized than Drizzt had discussed. Could more typical bandits be working with these goblinoids?

If he had creatures like that at his disposal, he'd use them in an initial wave. Let any spell casters expend their mob clearing spells on the goblins before making yourself known.

He could see them now, a mass of nervously fidgeting humanoids. More importantly, he could see the more normal-sized individual behind them.

One stood out in particular. Mostly due to the helm they wore. Goro nestled into his hiding spot, focusing in his vision. He found he could see quite the distance if he was willing to give up some peripheral vision.

Rusted plate armor and a great sword so old Goro could see the many notches even from a distance highlighted this individual as extremely different. The helm didn't look quite so damaged, but wobbled uncertainly on their neck.

Another goblin stood beside this armored individual, slightly bigger and better equipped than the others. It looked nervously up at the armored individual.

The goblins didn't want to be here. Goro felt quite certain on that account. They weren't starving, and from what Drizzt had said usually didn't go after caravans like this if they didn't need something.

If they didn't need anything, then maybe the armored individual did.

  
  


Drizzt eyed the armored individual with concern. He knew what to make of a group of goblins. Knew what to expect from their leader.

But he had never seen or heard of an individual who matched this description, and the rust spoke of undead.

Undead came in quite the variety, and cutting it down to sentient undead who could function in the daylight didn't really make Drizzt feel better.

If it relied on its sword, Drizzt felt confident in his abilities. If it relied on some other trick though?

He slowed his breathing. He had seen Goro off and on skirting on the other side. He'd have backup the moment a fight broke out.

But honestly, he wasn't sure how Goro would handle himself in a fight. His skill was real. His rage terrifying even to the experienced ranger. And his precision like that of an assassin.

If it had just been goblins, Drizzt would have signaled the fight with a shot from Taulmaril.

Not now, he decided. There was a small group of reasonably seasoned adventurers with the caravan. They could handle range support.

Drizzt pulled out a statuette of a black panther from a special pouch he kept on his belt.

"Come, Guenhwyvar, we have a new enemy this day."

Black mist coalesced to form his oldest friend, a 600 pound panther who had been with him since his darkest days.

Drizzt Do'Urden drew his scimitars.

A blood-curdling roar from Guenhwyvar signaled the start of the fight. The huge panther bounded into the front ring of goblins, tearing through them as though they were paper.

Take out the minions first.

Goro Akechi sped towards them, remembering the tricks Wulfgar had taught him in balance and position to accelerate his steps.

With all that training, and with a surer grip on the ground than most, Goro Akechi was almost as fast as Drizzt Do'Urden.

Almost.

The goblin leader set his spear just fast enough to block Drizzt's first strike.

Not his second.

Goblin bone cracked under the armored individual's step.

Drizzt parried its unwieldy swing easily.

Goro took the opportunity to lunge at a crack in the ancient armor.

His blade deflected off of...something.

Goro jumped back, wary of getting surrounded. Drizzt had told him to back out of a fight if he needed to.

While he certainly had no intention of leaving his mentor alone, Goro had come to know Drizzt well enough to recognize he could take a moment to observe.

His sword hadn't bounded off the armor, of that he was certain.

Drizzt swung with Vidrinath.

Goro had watched that sword cut into steel before. Had watched it cut cleanly through a dwarven-made shield. By all rights, Drizzt's swing should have sliced off his opponent's arm.

Goro couldn't even see a scratch.

Even Drizzt seemed surprised, leaping back to better measure his enemy.

Not a good sign.

Goro turned his head to regard the goblins. Well, goblin corpses really. Guen had torn those to shreds in short order.

Which left this...thing. This thing which had turned to look at him.

Goro grasped his blade in both hands. Perhaps instead of focusing on a clean cut, he could focus on a powerful wallop instead.

The helm, and the head inside, flew off in a sudden burst of silver.

Goro rushed forward, prepping a massive swing meant to knock this thing off its feet.

The body fell. The head rose, helm slipping off.

A single skull with two glowing ruby eyes and six amethyst teeth cackled at him.

Sure, he was surprised, but Goro Akechi was used to enemies suddenly shifting form on him.

A quick adjustment to his footing, and Goro slammed his blade into the skull.

Once again, he felt like he hadn't really hit the thing. He did, however, succeed in pushing it further away.

Drizzt rained arrow after arrow towards it. Goro moved in position to protect his mentor.

"What is it?"

"Undead and probably evil," replied Drizzt.

"Kill it!"

"Not sure how," admitted the drow.

Not great.

The skull's jaw opened wide.

A howl sorrowful and angry enough to make a banshee blush resounded through the air.

Goro could feel it flipping the switch between flight and fight. Could feel his heart skip a beat.

Guenhwyvar roared.

One part of Goro's brain, the part concerned with self-preservation told him to run. To flee and never look back. Surely Drizzt would distract this thing long enough for him to get away. He was the noble type after all. Annoying in his perfect life. And his perfect wife. And his perfect little girl.

How could he not be jealous? He'd tried. Tried to go out and live his own life.

All that had done was make things worse.

And now?

Whatever this thing was, it hadn't counted on Goro Akechi's overwhelming instinct to fight rather than flee. His nature to behave like a cornered rat once fear reached a certain threshold.

And it sure as hell hadn't anticipated how Goro Akechi responded to feeling powerless.

Goro lunged.

A horrible miasma surrounded him. He could feel it draining his very life.

"You want it!" he shrieked in a dozen voices.

The miasma coalesced into his blade.

Cracks formed along one of the rubies, Goro's sword shoving through it and out the other end of the skull.

Goro grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled, slamming his blade, and the skull attached to it, into the ground.

He could feel the sword slip through bone until it slammed into one of those amethyst teeth.

Goro raised his blade once more.

Lightning engulfed him.

He slammed the blade and skull down once more, ignoring the smell of burnt feathers. Ignoring the way his entire body spasmed.

His blade cut through the remains of the skull. Still, he raised his cruel weapon, shoving the point through the other eye socket.

A small bead of fire appeared in front of his eyes.

He didn't care.

It erupted in flame.

So be it. He'd keep swinging until this thing could no longer cast.

Strong, slender arms, wrapped around him.

While uncomfortable, the heat didn't damage him.

"Goro!"

Up went the sword, skull once more impaled on it.

"Guen!"

Goro slammed his blade down once more, reveling in the sensation of the skull cracking.

Six hundred pounds of panther slammed into him.

Goro fell back.

Guenhwyvar licked his face.

The sword fell from Goro's hands.

"I did it again, didn't I?"

He saw Drizzt move past him to inspect the skull.

Guen sprawled across him. Goro slowly raised a hand to scratch her between the ears.

He was vaguely aware of some of the other guards running up the hill towards them.

"What cast the spell?" asked one of the women.

A moment later he heard gasps.

"Do you know it?"

"That's-that's," the woman stuttered slightly, "What's a demilich doing here?"

Demilich? He hadn't heard that term before.

"This is a demilich?"

"If we don’t destroy the gems, it will come back.”

“Looks like our kenku here already got some of them.”

Goro heard Drizzt tell them it had possessed eight gems.

“Down to three now.”

Hadn’t he only broken the eyes? He might have cracked one of the teeth too, possibly even dislodged them, but gems were far too hard to break without noticing.

“What do you think this means?”

Drizzt must have been asking the woman, because she replied quickly.

“That something is very wrong. Demiliches aren’t known for traveling outside their lairs. I can’t imagine one risking a fight if its phylactery was so weak.”

“An imposter then?” asked the gruff man.

“Do you mind if I take these back to the caravan to identify?”

“No,” replied Drizzt. “Tell me what you find.”

Goro didn’t hear Drizzt walk over to him, but it didn’t surprise him when the drow leaned over him.

“Calm now?”

Goro nodded. “Odd encounter.”

Guenhwyvar stretched, moving off of him to stand beside Drizzt.

The drow reached out a hand, one Goro gratefully took.

“I have only known a couple of liches. They are deadly foes.” He glanced down to the slowly approaching caravan. 

“Selina should know more in just a few hours.” He clasped Goro’s arm. “Are you alright? I know Wulfgar taught you to channel your rage, but this felt different.”

“It was,” Goro confirmed. “When I’m scared,” he began in a child’s voice, “I fight,” he finished in Wulfgar’s deep tones.

Drizzt clasped him on the shoulder. “Well then, let us see what we can learn to belay that fear.”

Goro nodded grimly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such a hard time with this chapter. I wanted an encounter on the road, but then I realized I didn't want to do a lengthy investigation with Drizzt and Goro. Anyway, two more chapters left!


	6. A Kenku? Are You Kidding Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira Kurusu and Artemis Entreri arrive in Neverwinter.

For all the splendors of Waterdeep, Neverwinter held a charm all its own. Nowhere else had Akira seen such an open diversity of races. Dragonborn, tieflings, half-orc, dwarves, and humans mingled freely in this city.

Sure, he'd seen these races in Waterdeep, but not in such a diverse mix. Despite having everything, Waterdeep was primarily a human and elven city. He doubted Neverwinter could claim any one race as its majority.

Akira glanced over to Entreri, hoping for a history lesson.

The brusque man just made his way through the river dock crowds without a word.

He didn't talk much, did he?

Whatever the case, Akira followed.

"Are we not sailing to Luskan?"

"Our ship is delayed."

"Why?"

Entreri gritted his teeth. "Inspection."

Ah. Akira recognized well the tone of someone not happy with local government. This inspection wasn't about the ship, but rather about the delay.

A fight erupted in a nearby alley.

Akira paused, unsure if he should step in.

"Don't."

"Are fights common here?"

"The local tyrant still doesn't have the River District under control," explained Entreri.

"Local tyrant?"

"The Lord Protector of Neverwinter, Dagult Neverember."

"You don't sound like a fan."

"I care little for rulers, much less self-righteous ones."

Hmm. Fair enough, he supposed. After all, Shido had always sounded like he meant the best for Japan.

They hurried through the River Docks and into Neverwinter's core, a zone called Protector's Enclave.

"We'll stay the night at the Moonstone Mask and leave with the dawn."

"Moonstone Mask?"

"Oldest establishment in Neverwinter. We'll have to push for Luskan, so a good night here will do us good."

Sounded good to Akira. "Where is it?"

Entreri pointed forward and up. Akira followed his hand and gaped.

Several pieces of land floated in the air high about Neverwinter. He could just make out a large building atop the largest.

"Have you seen earthmotes before?"

"Yeah, but never with an inn on them."

Entreri smirked.

"Is it always like this?"

"Thankfully for it. The Moonstone Mask is one of the few structures to survive the eruption of Mount Hotenow."

"A volcano?"

Entreri nodded grimly. "Buried the city in fire and ash. Not much survived."

Akira glanced around, at the large stone stairs rising up a mountain. At the bustling crowds. He couldn't help but briefly stare at a building with an airship tethered to it. Nor could he resist making Entreri cut through the market.

"They rebuilt well."

"I never said Neverember wasn't an effective tyrant."

Whatever the case, Akira was pretty excited now.

They turned down a side-street. A little bit ahead Akira could see the giant chains which held the Moonstone Mask's earthmote to the mainland. A rickety bridge rose into the sky. In front of that bridge a portal shimmered like opal.

A couple of dancers stood outside. Both women wore masks trimmed with moonstone and slightly sheer clothing.

Ann would have rocked the look, honestly. It was sheer and sexy, but mysterious and confident.

Entreri stepped through the portal, Akira following close behind.

Akira had encountered portals while exploring Undermountain, and knew to anticipate the disorientation which came with them.

His head spun slightly, but the giant manor before him provided a fine visual to lock onto.

Entreri strode forward like he simply walked there.

A flight of stairs led to the main entrance. Today, the door stood open to invite in the fresh air.

And to waft out the smells of sizzling meat, cooked fish, and gravy. He smelled sweet pies as well.

They stepped through the entrance.

Stairs descended back down to the first floor. Lanterns illuminated the space, and he could see the glow of multiple fireplaces. Wooden chairs and tables, in a variety of sizes, marked the bulk of the downstairs.

Entreri turned to the side. Akira hadn't even noticed the alcove with a desk. A slightly older woman sat hunched over a ledger.

"Two rooms for one night. Adjacent."

The woman looked up. She wore mostly green, including her mask, and smiled playfully at them. While she looked middle-aged, Akira couldn't help but wonder how old she might really be. Especially when he noted the slight taper of her ears.

"If you want adjacent, you'll be on the third floor."

"That's fine."

She pulled out another ledger and wrote something down."That will be 32 gold pieces for the both of you, a meal and wine included."

Whoa. Akira had never stayed in a place so expensive.

Entreri pulled out sixteen gold.

Right, he had told Akira to pay his own way, hadn't he? Seemed a little unfair with him picking the lodging. Whatever the case, Akira could easily afford it.

The woman took their gold and waved over a hostess.

"If you'll want company this evening, that will be an additional 45 gold." She handed the other woman two keys and two coins. Each coin had a hole in the middle, and a strand of colorful thread tied about it. "You will hand these to your waitress when you come down for dinner," she explained. "Now, adjacent rooms. Third floor."

The hostess looked between Entreri and Akira for a moment. She then smiled softly and bade them follow.

Akira sauntered down to the dining room not too long after getting settled. He and Entreri had discussed their travel plans for the next day and Akira was eager to explore.

He just had to make sure he didn't sleep in. He had no doubt Entreri would ditch him if he did.

The dining room seemed mostly filled with gruff warrior types, largely human. A lot of the non-humans sat together, and the more mixed groups looked like adventuring parties.

One group in particular seemed to receive quite a bit of attention. A little throng of adventurers had formed around one table.

A rather plain-looking human stood upon the table, eagerly telling a tale. Akira couldn't quite make it out over the general din, but caught something about a great battle in the feywild.

Slightly behind him, a group of elves clamored over a fellow elf with large blue wings.

Wait, wings?

Akira hadn't seen an elf like this one. He was taller than his fellows, but thin and fragile-looking, even for an elf. A pair of large wings surrounded him, almost like a shield from all the gazes.

Beside him sat a humanoid cat-person, a tabaxi like the one he had seen on his first day.

Actually, Akira's eyes widened slightly. She might just be the same tabaxi.

He moved around the side to get close.

Sure enough, she was the same woman who had helped pull him out of the harbor months ago.

She glanced at him.

"Mind if I sit?"

She gestured to the empty chair beside her. The only empty chair around the table.

"Watch for Endrikane's miming," she warned.

"I will." Akira sat down beside her.

She narrowed her ice-blue eyes slightly, taking him in. It reminded him a little of how Entreri had first stared him down.

"I've met you."

Akira nodded. "I think so. When I first arrived in Waterdeep."

"You're the human I pulled out of the water."

"Yeah. Thank you for that."

A waitress came over. "Are you planning to have dinner, sir?"

"Hmm. Oh," Akira pulled out the threaded coin. "That sounds good." He glanced over to the tabaxi. "Do you mind?"

"I'll take Daintyfish skewers."

"That sounds good."

"Would you like mussel-and-basil soup with that?"

Oh, precious fish. "Yeah. And, um, I'd like a mellower drink to go with that. I don't want to risk getting drunk."

Akira did not miss the waitress's smirk behind the mask.

"I'll make sure to pair your meal appropriately." She took the threaded coin from his hand and headed back.

"Lightweight?"

Akira shrugged. "Where I'm from, I wouldn't even be old enough to drink such things."

"Even a toddler can drink properly watered-down ale."

Something about her frankness made Akira smile. "I'm Akira Kurusu."

"Fayne," she replied simply.

A feathery voice spoke from her other side. "I'd like to eat in peace now."

"Alright," announced the human, "story time's over," he looked at one of the women around the table and winked, "for now."

He hopped off the table and into a seat.

"When'd we get a crew member?"

Akira bowed his head slightly. "My name is Akira Kurusu. Your companion pulled me out of the harbor when I first arrived in Waterdeep."

"You must be the one who came through the portal," the elf reasoned.

How'd he know that?

"The one you think came through the well?" the human asked.

The elf nodded. He turned to regard Akira again. "My name is Zeru."

That didn't sound very elven, but then again, Akira was still figuring out the cultural conventions around here.

"Endrikane," replied the human. "Hey, Fayne, I saw a waitress come up. You order dinner for all of us?"

"Just mine."

Endrikane pouted.

Zeru sighed. "Perhaps you should pay attention instead of attracting it."

"Oh, come on, better than everyone just staring at the winged elf."

Okay, so that was as odd as Akira thought.

A waitress practically materialized behind Endrikane. "What can I get you, good sir?"

"I'll have the veal pie and feywine."

Zeru looked up at her. "If I could get the mushrooms and some wine, please."

She nodded and shimmied off.

"So what brings you to Neverwinter?" asked Endrikane.

"Passing through."

"What? Not going to stay and take on the Neverwinter Wood? Or investigate any rumors of demons beneath Castle Never?"

"Maybe another time. I have someone I need to meet." Akira clenched his right hand, saving the warmth in Akechi's glove there. He couldn't explain why, but he felt like as long as that glove radiated warmth, Akechi was out there somewhere.

"You do not truly know where they are," Zeru reasoned.

"No, but I have a lead, and I intend to follow it to the end."

Fayne and Zeru exchanged glances before switching seats.

"Do you mind if I examine the glove?"

"You wouldn't be the first."

One of the first wizards Akira had worked with had identified the glove when he offered to buy her the pearl needed to cast the spell.

Zeru smiled at him, gently placing a thin hand over Akira's gloved one.

"Divination may not be my specialty, but I have my ways." He muttered something then, soft and calm.

No, not muttering. Singing. A gentle aria sung under his breath.

Akira had never heard anything so blatantly beautiful. He rotated his hand to clasp Zeru's and closed his eyes.

The din of the dining room faded away, replaced only by Zeru's birdsong.

The image of a crow filled his mind, feathers around its eyes and beak slightly red. The image pulled out, revealing the crow to be a kenku with a large sword on its back and a sabre at its side. Light danced along its feathers, reflecting a dark purple when it caught just right.

It almost made it look striped.

Akira felt himself whisper, "Goro," more than he heard it.

The kenku stared into the sky.

The image pulled back yet further, showcasing that he rode a huge white unicorn with bells on its reigns. The kenku held loosely to the sides of a drow with a fur-lined green cloak and a magnificent bow.

He felt Zeru impart a name: Drizzt Do'Urden.

"Goro, I'm coming."

The kenku opened its mouth, but no sound came out.

"What is it?" asked the drow.

Zeru clutched Akira's hand.

"I thought I heard him," replied the kenku in a voice Akira didn't know.

Akira returned Zeru's grip. "Goro, it's me. It's Joker."

Goro looked around. Drizzt tensed.

The din of the dining room returned.

Akira opened his eyes. "That was him."

Zeru released his hand. "Likely. They appeared to ride along the River Mirar."

"Where is that? And who's Drizzt?"

"A ranger," Fayne replied tersely.

"And the river Mirar flows into the Sea of Swords, north of here."

"Near Luskan?" Akira pressed. He felt like his heart might leap from his chest.

The three friends nodded.

"We sail for Luskan soon. Would you like to accompany us?"

Yes, but...

"I already have a travelling companion."

Endrikane spoke, "Artemis Entreri, right?"

Akira nodded.

"We're more fun."

Fayne chuckled slightly.

"Do you trust him?" inquired Zeru.

"We only just met," Akira admitted, "but he's the one who said I should go for Luskan."

Fayne leaned over, shoving Zeru slightly away from the table.

"Caution. He has powerful friends in Luskan."

"All the more reason to go with him."

Endrikane grinned. "Solid reasoning."

Zeru and Fayne both smiled at Akira, though it looked odd on a cat's face.

"Thank you. How can I repay you?"

"I will contact you should something arise," promised Zeru.

Akira nodded and turned back to Endrikane. "I believe you were the storyteller?"

Endrikane grinned and began launching into his next story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I play Neverwinter now and then, and used to play Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Nights 2. It definitely shows in this chapter. Though, honestly, I had a lot of fun sticking Akira in a place so comfortably familiar to me.
> 
> The crew he meets is from a D&D campaign a few years ago. We basically played privateers and my dad pulled out several adventures from The Yawning Portal. Zeru was an avariel elf who lost his wings when they rescued him from slavery, so he learned the Wish spell to get them back. Fayne is my friend's tabaxi ranger. She's supposed to be kind of siamese, but it took us a while to remember that. Endrikane is my mom's character. The party reached twentieth level when they joined in our last campaign to help out those characters on an adventure. Anyway, it was fun bringing them back. Sometimes you just feel like the story isn't over, and for some reason I never feel like that crew is really done.
> 
> Anyway, one more chapter to go!


	7. Isekai Duet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro and Akira reunited.

Goro and Drizzt bade their travelling companions farewell just outside of Luskan. A caravan would take some time to get through the gates, but Drizzt wanted to hurry on.

The guard, Selina, had identified the gems as gems of spell storing. While that explained why some had broken on their own, it left wide open the question of why someone would construct a fake demilich.

Given that, Drizzt had told Goro he wanted to hurry to the wizard's tower in town for further analysis.

Goro carefully took in the sites around as they walked. They had passed through the city of Mirabar on their way here, but Luskan felt entirely different. More lively.

Most of the buildings were wood with stone foundations and signs with images to indicate the building's purpose swayed in the sea breeze.

People walked with their weapons openly here, and most of them looked like they knew how to use them. The humans here were gruff and grizzled. And smelled.

Goro and Drizzt walked by a particularly smelly batch of humans and half-orcs, fresh from working the docks.

Gross.

Drizzt smiled at him. "Luskan is a city of hard workers."

"Smells like it," replied Goro, resorting to two different voices to say what he wanted.

"This city has been through quite a lot."

Goro nodded his understanding. He got the impression that cataclysmic events were a fairly common occurrence in this world. Deities died. Elemental primordials heralded volcanic eruptions and tidal waves. And dragons occasionally raged across the skies.

Not a safe world he'd found himself in.

Drizzt stopped, gesturing ahead. "Our destination."

Goro followed Drizzt's outstretched arm. A great tree of stone stood in the middle of a small island. The island sat in the middle of the widening river, and bridges connected it to the rest of the city.

"The Host Tower of the Arcane," announced Drizzt.

Goro tilted his head. How did they get stone to branch like that?

Drizzt patted him on the shoulder and continued leading him to the tower.

The street opened into a plaza shortly before the bridge. Some stalls sold food and spell components for the resident wizards, and children played in the relatively open space.

A drow wearing sparkling robes approached them, several skewers of meat in his hands.

Now that Goro thought about it, the only other drow he'd seen beside Drizzt had been Drizzt's father and a drow friend.

The drow said something in his native language. Goro could make out some keywords and grammar from the drow language, Zaknafein spoke to his granddaughter in drow, but following someone speaking at a normal pace was a bit much. All he really caught was the mention of Catti-brie.

He turned his attention more fully to the conversation.

Drizzt replied warmly in drow before switching over to common.

"We found something interesting on our journey."

Taking his cue from Drizzt, the drow switched over to common as well. "We?" He looked at Goro.

"This is Goro Akechi. We don't know the details, but he was reincarnated as a kenku."

The drow happily gobbled down one of the lumps of meat on his skewer. "Ah, the one not from around here."

"You know?"

The drow smiled at him. Now that Goro really looked at him, he could make out a dark green dragon tattoo on the right side of his face.

"Catti-brie wrote to us sometime ago to inquire about your circumstances."

He had a really smooth voice, one Goro would like to speak in.

The drow looked back to Drizzt. "Jarlaxle already wrote to say he found a lead though."

Drizzt nodded and pulled out the gems. "We had an interesting encounter on our way."

Goro could swear the drow's eyes changed color, but he couldn't be sure.

"Gems of spell storing?"

Whoa. It had taken Selina several hours to identify the gems.

Drizzt nodded. "That's what the wizard with the caravan said too. They were embedded in a skull to resemble a demilich."

"That is odd. Want Gromph to take a look?"

Drizzt winced. "I was hoping someone else might look."

"I mean, you could, but if it's information you're looking for Gromph is the best diviner I know."

"Do you think you could handle it then?"

The drow looked back at Goro. "Don't wanna take him on a tour?"

"I should probably get to One-Eyed Jax."

Was he nervous? Goro had never quite heard this tone in Drizzt's voice.

The drow laughed, scooping the gems out of Drizzt's hand. "Avoidance noted." He winked at Goro. "If you ever want a tour, just tell a student at the front that Kenoth'Ven invited you. Ven, to my friends."

He looked pointedly at Drizzt.

Drizzt shrugged, looking slightly abashed. It was a good look on him.

"Well then, better get lunch over there before I eat it all." He turned and sauntered across the bridge.

"Kenoth'Ven," Goro repeated, tilting his head to indicate the question.

"A wizard from Menzoberranzan," Drizzt explained. "He's a powerful illusionist and seems to get along with everyone."

"Gromph," reasoned Goro.

Drizzt nodded. "A powerful archmage. It's best not to get on his bad side, and the only good way to do that is to not interact."

That bad, huh?

"Well I'm sure, Kenoth'Ven will have more information for us soon." Drizzt turned away from the tower. "Let's get cleaned up."

Akira smiled when the crew he had interacted with in Neverwinter wandered to the common room of the One-Eyed Jax tavern.

Endrikane walked right up to him. "Find your Goro yet?"

Akira shook his head.

Zeru smiled softly at him. "He's near, isn't he?"

Akira clenched his right hand. The glove had grown slowly warmer in the last couple of days. Today, he could almost feel Goro's hand in his.

"What brings you here?"

"Quick job," explained Endrikane. "We won't be long, but Zeru here wants to check out the Host Tower."

"The tree-like building, right?"

Zeru nodded. "It has perhaps the most eclectic group of mages in all Toril."

Sounded cool. Akira had explored Luskan a bit the last couple of days, but when he asked Entreri about the tower he'd just named it.

"I have an invitation to visit this evening," added Zeru.

"And we're all going, right?" Endrikane nudged Fayne. She smiled at him, but didn't say anything.

Akira scanned the room quickly to note people's reactions to the strange trio. No one seemed to pay them any heed. Whether that meant they came here often or that citizens of Luskan simply minded their own business, he wasn't sure.

Zeru sighed. "It seems I shall attend every mage's function with my companions."

"They're good friends," Akira replied.

"Yeah we are," confirmed Endrikane. He reached up to place an arm around Zeru's slender shoulders. "I was there when the captain pulled this one out from the sea, sopping wet and shaking."

"Hardly a story he needs to hear."

Akira could hear the mix of joy and pain in Zeru's face. The memory hurt, but the long friendship warmed him.

He felt similarly about the night he'd found out that saving reality meant letting Goro Akechi die.

Fayne sighed. "We should go."

"Yeah, yeah." Endrikane winked at Akira. "Hope you find your boyfriend soon."

"We'll talk later," promised Fayne.

"I look forward to it."

The strong tabaxi then practically pulled Endrikane off of Zeru. The slender winged-elf, Akira had learned they were called avariel elves, seemed relieved to get the weight off his shoulders.

"Thank you, Fayne."

Endrikane spun for the door and, whistling, exited into the night.

Zeru waved slightly before he left.

Artemis Entreri practically materialized beside him. "Your Neverwinter friends?"

"Yeah."

"They're from the Pygmy." He spoke like that should mean something to Akira and, oddly, it did. He'd heard of the ship you hired to do the impossible. Apparently, they were known for such deeds as destroying a kraken. And for the manticore they kept as the ship's cat.

Entreri sat down. "We've been invited to dinner."

"Dinner?"

"At Ship Kurth's headquarters. Be prepared for a fight."

"That's the dominant crew here, right?" Why would he fight them?

Entreri nodded. "I was hopeful he'd just meet us here."

"He? We're to have dinner with an individual?"

"I'm sure there will be more."

Hmm. He sounded grumpier than normal.

"Is there a problem?"

Entreri scanned the room around them. "This is Luskan. There's always a problem."

Goro Akechi stayed close to Drizzt as they crossed the bridge to Closeguard Island and Tower Kurth. There were multiple look-out towers around the island, with two looking over the bridge.

He could hear muttering, even if he couldn't make it out.

A muscular drow stood on the island, just off the bridge. He grinned when he saw them.

The sight of Zaknafein Do'Urden eased Goro's trepidation. He felt Drizzt relax slightly as well.

"I'm glad you could make it."

"Is Catti-brie here?"

"She's having dinner with her father, but she passed through to ensure you made it safely."

"Maybe I should attend that dinner instead."

Zaknafein shook his head. "She said she will join you at One-Eyed Jax this evening. Let Bruenor spend his time with his granddaughter."

"Fair enough." Drizzt fell into step beside his father, Goro trailing close behind. "How many of us will attend?"

"I don't think it's a large gathering. That human you spend so much time with, Entreri?, he arrived just a little before you. I think Jarlaxle wanted to speak with him one-on-one."

Something about Zaknafein's tone caught Goro by surprise. Jealousy perhaps? Something with an edge, certainly.

"You know Artemis," Drizzt chided.

"We hardly interact."

Drizzt sighed. "He admittedly doesn't spend much time here, but you two should try to get along. You're more similar than you think."

"Artemis Entreri," Goro queried, forced to switch between Drizzt and Zak's voice.

"My..." Drizzt searched for the right word a moment, "enemy friend rival." He spoke fast, like those were all the same thing somehow.

Ah, frenemy. Goro understood. Unfortunately, he couldn't actually say the word.

"I understand."

"Has your vocabulary improved?" asked Zaknafein.

"Very much."

"He sat with a different group every night during the trip," Drizzt added. "It added a surprising amount."

"Stories," Goro added. Everyone had stories to tell, and he found such activities good vocabulary building exercises.

"Do you remember everything you hear?"

"Almost."

It wasn't that he remembered everything he heard, so much as when he wanted to say something the closest approximation based on words and phrases he'd heard from others came out. For instance, when he wanted to be intimidating, he naturally used words Wulfgar had spoken to him. Alternatively, when he was calm, he found he used Drizzt's voice quite a bit. He could consciously want to use a specific one, but changing voices played a similar role for him as adjusting his tone.

"Innate mimicry," he finally said in a vague attempt to explain. "I say what I mean, in the best voice. I rarely think about it."

Zaknafein let out some noncommittal sound of understanding.

Some sailors opened the doors to Tower Kurth for them. The entryway consisted of a set of stairs going up and another set going down.

They took the steps going down.

Goro still wondered about this Artemis Entreri. He had met Jarlaxle before, and wondered what sort of person would elicit such one-on-one attention from the drow. Doubly so since it seemed to bother Drizzt's father.

They descended quite a ways before they entered what Goro thought of as the basement. It was a rather large space, connecting to a series of caverns beneath the water.

Zaknafein led them well into this complex. Goro grabbed Drizzt's cloak. The two drow didn't even seem to consider adding light to the space.

Drizzt grabbed Goro's arm to better guide him.

After a bit, Goro could make out a warm light beneath the crack of a door. He felt better when they got closer.

Zaknafein knocked on the door.

Goro heard a muffled sound. A moment later a chair skidded across carpet and the door opened.

A reasonably tall man with black hair and a white mask peered from the doorway.

Goro's beak dropped.

The man opened the door all the way, stepping aside to let them in.

Zaknafein walked in.

Drizzt started to walk in, but still had Goro's arm, and Goro wasn't moving.

The man regarded them. A flicker of recognition flashed in his grey eyes.

"Goro?"

He wanted to speak. He wanted to say the name.

He couldn't.

Joker, Akira Kurusu, stepped in front of him, blocking much of the light.

All Goro could do was nod.

Arms wrapped around his shoulders, Akira leaning down to better hold him.

"You're so short."

Akira lifted him slightly off his feet. "And so light."

"Hollow bones," Goro replied in Drizzt's voice.

Speaking of...Drizzt slid past them to stand beside his father in the lit room.

Akira put him down.

"You're what? One and a half meters?" Akira put a hand over Goro's head. "It's so weird having you shorter than me."

Goro caught Drizzt and Zaknafein saying something about not understanding.

"You're a kenku, right?"

The world "kenku" suddenly made it clear to Goro. It sounded so strange amid Akira's other words.

Because Akira was speaking Japanese.

Goro wanted to respond in kind, but he didn't have enough Japanese to mimic.

Akira slowly walked around him. "You're like a karasu tengu."

Goro nodded. He had thought the same thing when he first saw himself in a proper mirror.

Akira wrapped back to his front. "It's cool."

"Cool." Goro once more tilted his head to indicate the question.

"It fits you." Akira beamed at Goro. "Crow became a crow."

Goro prodded Akira's forehead with one of his finger talons.They weren't particularly sharp, but it was enough to push Akira back a little. He had on his playful Joker grin.

"I missed you."

"I missed you," mimicked Goro.

"It's going to be weird not hearing your voice."

"Weird," agreed Goro.

Akira grabbed his right arm to drag him in. It was then that Goro noticed the black glove of Akira's right hand.

He switched back to common for the extended vocabulary. "Mine."

"It helped me find you."

Drizzt smiled at them. "I take it, he's who you were looking for."

"My name is Akira Kurusu." Akira bowed. "Thank you for taking care of Goro."

"I'm Drizzt Do'Urden, and there's no reason to thank me. I quite enjoyed his company."

Akira, Goro, Zaknafein, and Drizzt all sat around the table. Some cheese and fruit was already laid out.

Goro gratefully took a grape and popped his head back to swallow.

Akira watched him.

"I guess it really is like a bird."

Goro looked away from him. Despite the relief he felt at seeing Akira, he didn't like being seen like this.

He would have rather Akira remember him as he had been.

A door on the other side of the room opened and out strode Jarlaxle.

He looked just as garish as Goro remembered. Black gold and purple highlighted his color scheme, but not without a hint of green on the lining of his cloak. A giant feather wrapped around his large hat multiple times, and the ruby inset in his eye-patch gleamed in the room's light.

Then there was the jewelry. Something about Goro's crow eyes couldn't help but notice the glimmer of rings and earrings. Jarlaxle had several piercings on his ears, and wore at least three rings per hand. The spurts on his books clinked as he walked, emphasizing the sense of clinking wealth.

A far less shiny man entered the room behind him. This one seemed to relish in blacks and grays, though Goro caught a bit of dark purple on the shirt and cloak. He was about the same size as Jarlaxle, maybe even a little shorter, but with a broader build. His skin looked almost ashen in the light, darkening with the shadows.

Very little gleamed on him. He had two daggers on one side, one with an impressive emerald in the hilt, and a sword on the other hip.

Goro couldn't help but stare at the sword. The small skull on top almost seemed to laugh at him, and the rib cage provided a hand guard.

The man glanced at Goro and Akira.

"You found him."

His voice sounded like a sword unsheathed.

Goro couldn't help but look at Zaknafein. The drow seemed to almost ignore the man.

Jarlaxle grinned. "I'm so glad that worked out."

"Just as you planned," murmured Drizzt.

Jarlaxle grinned, plopping himself down beside Zaknafein. The man who had come out behind him sat between Jarlaxle and Akira.

"Isn't this pleasant? A group of friends having a fine dinner together?" He picked up a small bell and rang.

A lavish feast of fine cooked meat, pies, and fresh fruit and vegetables appeared on the table.

Akira leaned in close to Goro. "This man led me here. His name is Artemis Entreri," he whispered in Japanese.

Goro nodded his appreciation for the quiet introduction.

"Well? Dig in." Jarlaxle grabbed some finely seasoned meat and a selection of cheese.

Akira and Goro glanced at each other before filling their own plates. Goro had found himself particularly fond of barely cooked meat and fresh fruit in this form, and so emphasized that. Akira mostly went for the vegetables.

Everyone else filled their plates as well.

Goro began cutting his meat into smaller slices. He found it worked best if he just cut things to a single swallow size since he couldn't really chew with a beak.

Drizzt spoke after just a few of his own bites. "Alright, Jarlaxle, why did you bring us all together?"

"We could have met at the tavern," Entreri added.

"You wound me, my friend."

"Explain it to them."

Jarlaxle sighed. "Mostly, I wanted to meet with you two," he gestured toward Goro and Akira, "somewhere secure. It's best if you can discuss your situation openly, after all."

"I imagine Entreri already told you most of it."

"As he understands it, yes, but I'd like to hear your story from you."

"Me too," added Goro. "Why did you follow me?"

He didn't like the way Akira looked almost pained when he spoke.

Akira rubbed Goro's glove. "I didn't want you to be alone. Even if I never go back, the others have each other." He smiled at Drizzt. "Maybe I didn't need to worry so much, but I knew you were alive. I could feel it."

"You thought it," corrected Goro.

"I wanted to follow you into the Metaverse. I had this theory that you'd somehow become trapped there."

"Metaverse?" inquired Jarlaxle.

"A realm ruled by human cognition," explained Akira. "I got here through it."

"How?" asked Goro.

Akira shrugged. "I don't really know. I just followed the heat of the glove. It grew warmer as I got closer. That only stopped when I actually saw you."

Jarlaxle spoke to Goro. "That item must be important to you. It's said the more personal the item, the easier and stronger the divination."

"It's the glove you threw at me."

Goro raised his head, doing his best to mimic a haughty raven.

"A duel?" asked Entreri. He and Drizzt exchanged glances.

"Yeah. He's my friend and rival. Oh, and tried to kill me once."

"Once," Goro repeated.

"Twice," corrected Akira.

Goro tilted his head.

"And a half. Come on though, there's no way you would have actually killed me during that duel."

"Thought about it."

"Of course you did."

Jarlaxle burst out laughing, a great belly laugh.

"What is it?" asked Akira, clearly quite confused.

"Us and them," Goro mused. He looked between Entreri and Drizzt. He couldn't quite decide if they couldn't seem more different or more similar.

Akira turned to Entreri. "Oh, is Drizzt your frenemy?"

"Frenemy?" mouthed Entreri.

"You friend who is also your enemy," explained Akira.

"Yes," answered Goro.

Entreri and Drizzt looked at each other.

"I'm not sure I'd say that..."

"It's more that it's changed."

"Nope," shouted Jarlaxle. "You are officially frenemies now. I love that term." He looked at Zaknafein. "How do we not have an equivalent in drow?"

"We probably should," agreed Zaknafein.

"What other fun terms do you have?"

"Uh, I don't really know."

As annoying as Jarlaxle could be, Goro had to give him credit for shifting the conversation. This path felt far more natural than just explaining things.

Sure enough, he managed to get Akira talking about Japan quite a bit. He talked about working with the phantom thieves and the friends he had left behind. He then talked a bit about his relationship with Goro.

This was where Goro stepped in some as well. He wanted to make it quite clear that Akira was simply his dear rival.

Akira seemed to have a slightly different take.

"We hung out quite a bit. I really enjoyed just spending time with him and listening to jazz."

"Jazz?" asked Jarlaxle. To his credit, he seemed truly interested in all this.

"It's a style of music," explained Akira. "I haven't heard any here."

"I see. You'll have to help me explore it later."

"Goro would be better for that."

"No."

Akira grinned at him. "I was really happy when I found he survived, but..."

"Not me."

"But it was. It was just a you that survived."

"People come back to life with some regularity," replied Jarlaxle. He side-eyed Zaknafein as he spoke.

"I've noticed that here, but it doesn't happen where we're from. Reality was shifting, and only we seemed to notice."

"A lie," added Goro.

Akira sighed. "When the time came to confront the cause, I was given a choice. We could live in the false reality, all of us together and happy. Or..."

"You could live in true reality," surmised Jarlaxle.

Akira nodded.

"Why didn't you take the offer?" queried Jarlaxle.

Akira looked at Goro.

"A lie," repeated Goro. "Not free will."

"Goro didn't want to live in a false reality. He wanted his decisions and their consequences to matter."

Zaknafein, who had been fairly quiet, snorted. "That's idiotic."

"I think it's noble," replied Drizzt.

"I thought so too," concurred Akira. "That's why I couldn't let him down. Not then and not now."

Jarlaxle smirked. "You two love each other."

Goro looked to the wall.

"I can't speak for Goro, but I love him very much. He's the most important person in the world to me."

"Must be if you were willing to travel to another world for him," muttered Entreri. He seemed unsure of how he felt about the whole thing.

At least to Goro.

Honestly, he felt unsure about his feelings too.

He did love Akira, but he wasn't sure he could condone what he had just done.

"Goro?"

Goro turned back to Akira. He removed his Joker mask so they could better look at each other.

It felt weird staring down at a beak at him.

Goro spoke, pointedly using Akira's voice and word.

"I speak for Goro. I love him very much."

Akira wrapped him in a big hug. His strong arms crossed all the way around Goro's thin back.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to use my words."

Goro leaned into the hug, resting his beak on Akira's shoulders.

"I love you," he whispered, using Drizzt's gentle tone when he whispered to Catti-brie. "I love you," he repeated, using Catti-brie's voice when she expressed her love for Drizzt right before a kiss. "I love you," he continued, now using Zaknafein's tone when he spoke to his granddaughter.

He pulled back from Akira.

"Akira is the most important person in the world to me."

Behind myself, Akechi realized. That was why he could never really admit how he felt.

"I hate me."

Akira slid a finger along Goro's beak.

"I know."

Jarlaxle spoke behind them. "I can almost hear you two saying all this."

"I'm married," protested Drizzt.

"Not a chance," replied Entreri.

"You do have a thing for pointy ears," smirked Jarlaxle.

Goro could actually see Entreri shove Jarlaxle's hat down over his face.

"Not the hat!"

"They understand."

Akira nodded. "I think so." He pressed his cheek against Goro's beak. "They might even be more supportive than my friends back home. They all wanted to help save you, but I'm not sure how they'd feel about us as lovers."

"I'm not sure how I feel," replied Goro, starting with Akira's words and moving to another voice when he could no longer directly quote him.

"Can we try?"

Goro nodded slowly.

Akira kissed the side of his beak.

Jarlaxle stood and clapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Jarlaxle so much. He and Entreri was basically my first ship.
> 
> There will probably be more of this. I super enjoyed writing it and have ideas for how to continue. After all, there is the question of the fake demilich. And who doesn't want Entreri, Jarlaxle, Goro, and Akira in a party?

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this a while ago in preparation for ShuAke week since I knew I wouldn't have a ton of time when National Novel Writing Month started. Still, it holds a kind of special spot for me because The Legend of Drizzt is pretty much my OTF (One True Fandom). I started writing fanfiction way back when because of it and I still read every book quickly upon release. It felt good to return to my roots. I really enjoyed mixing the thing which first got me into fandom with the thing which brought me back.


End file.
